| Sherbrooke Melbourne, Victoria | |||||||||||||||
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| Population | 294 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 420/km2 (1,090/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1893 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3789 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 0.7 km2 (0.3 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Yarra Ranges | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Monbulk | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Casey | ||||||||||||||
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Sherbrooke is a settlement in Victoria, Australia, 35 km east of Melbourne, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Sherbrooke recorded a population of 294 at the 2021 census.[1]
Permanent European settlement began with Robert W. Graham, an ex sea captain (born 1836 in Ludlow, Shropshire England) who spent eight years living in Quebec, Canada, before migrating to Australia with his family. He built a small house Merrimu, hand-cut from the forest, using horizontal-slab wall construction, an adobe floor, weatherboards and a sapling/shingle roof. Now noted as the 'father of Sherbrooke', Graham named the area after Sherbrooke the location near his place of residence in Canada. He is also credited with discovering Sherbrooke Falls, originally named Graham falls. He was the first Post Master of Sherbrooke, the position he held from 1894 until his death in 1918. A rough hut at the back of the house, with a delivery slot cut in the door, served as the first post office. Both the house and the post office building still stand.
In March 2019, “Burnham Beeches”, a 1930s art deco property owned by celebrity chef Shannon Bennett, was transformed into an art installation by street artist Rone aka Tyrone Wright. Originally the home of industrialist Alfred Nicholas and his family, it later served as a research facility, a children's hospital, and a luxury hotel. It is again slated for conversion into a luxury hotel, beginning in mid-2019.[2]
